Hello Everyone,
In case you don't know, I'm new to everything cosplay. Alright, so recently I heard someone (med student) say that cosplaying is only for teenagers or people who are in their early 20's. And that person also said that once you get older people should give up cosplaying because it makes you look childish and immature.
I want to know if anyone here feels this way or agrees. I don't want to give up cosplaying (psh* in fact I just started) especially once you get a more stable job and make more money than you do when you're in your early 20's. I'm almost turning 25 and want to go to school to become a criminal psychologist{Ph.D.}. And I feel with that profession it will be hard to keep cosplaying and still be taken seriously, if people find out about it.
I do know a couple who are in their 30's who still cosplay but they are both public school teachers, which I feel is a career that you still be taken serious but allowed to not be serious all the time if you do your job.

So I just want to know how anyone feels about this. Is there an age limit where cosplaying can make you look "childish"? Does it all depend on what type of career you have(like being a pediatrician, where you work with children vs. being a cardiologist)?

Thoughts, opinions, ideas. I'm still relatively young so I still have time to start cosplaying if I am going to stop once I get older.

IMO there is no age limit or maturity level that dictates whether or not you can/should cosplay. Cosplay is about fun, and as long as it doesn't interfere with your daily responsibilities (your job, eating, cleaning yourself, etc.) I personally don't see any problem.

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There is no age limit to enjoying making costumes and portraying characters, as far as I am concerned! If anything, it seems strange to me that some people would expect to stop enjoying all the things they like when they were a kid once they pass some magic threshold age.

I'm only just getting into cosplay myself (though I've always made my own Halloween costumes), and I'm 28 and nearly finished with a PhD in geophysics. Working on a Serious Degree (tm) in a Serious Field is definitely not mutually exclusive with being able to cosplay (though there are time constraints, of course). If anything, the fun of constructing the costume has been a really good stress relief from that real life stuff.

That said, I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little mortified at the idea of my professional contacts finding out that I cosplay. I think this comes more from the fact that I'm personally a self-conscious individual in general, not that I fear they'd think less of me as a scientist because I might sometimes dress up as a webcomic character or a personified city. If you have concern about that sort of thing at all, I know that lots and lots of people keep a sharp divide between their personal and professional lives. So long as cosplay is fun for you, you can just keep it on the personal side of that line!

I'm 42 and just started with cosplay. I've been a historical re-enactor for over 20 years so I'm no stranger to playing dress up or the social hit for having an odd hobby. A lot of friends my age do both reenactments and cosplay so I've been a bit surprised by the agism I've seen here. I had no idea it was considered by some a teen hobby!

I've seen old people dressed as Merlin and Madam Mim, from The sword in the stone, and they looked WONDERFUL. Maybe you would look immature if you cosplayed a really young character, but there's certainly no age limit for cosplay.

From what I've seen and heard, people tend to see cosplay as immature if you're doing an anime character, which is still a bunch of bull.

I'm 28 as well, and I have a well-paying job as a CAD designer with a stable income, and pay the bills like anybody else. Cosplaying is fun and enjoyable for me, and I don't think a person should be judged by what their hobbies are. It's nobody else's business quite frankly.

And for the record, I've seen "adult" sport fans act WAY more childish than most of the cosplayers I've met in my lifetime.

Another PhD student here (chemistry yay), and honestly, Seismogenic summarized it perfectly. Only one of my labmates know that I cosplay and she's aware that I prefer not to advertise it. This is the overwhelming reason that I use a screen name and have separate social media accounts for my cosplay group. I just prefer my colleagues (and students!) to be a little more removed from some aspects of my personal life.

From what I've seen and heard, people tend to see cosplay as immature if you're doing an anime character, which is still a bunch of bull.

I always wonder why some people consider anime to be for children just because it's a cartoon when there are so many other cartoon-ed shows that are not for children (American Dad, Family guy to name).
Plus for me, if the story is well-thought out and interesting, with some complexity then I don't care whether it's aimed at children or not. I think people shouldn't care either.

I always wonder why some people consider anime to be for children just because it's a cartoon when there are so many other cartoon-ed shows that are not for children (American Dad, Family guy to name).
Plus for me, if the story is well-thought out and interesting, with some complexity then I don't care whether it's aimed at children or not. I think people shouldn't care either.

Right? Hell, there are a lot of anime series that has so much mature subject matter that I probably would avoid showing to my kids, if I had any.

I'm going to be 25 in May of this year and I see no problem with it. Just like everyone else I've run into cosplayers way older than I am and I don't see it as something where after a certain age you should call it quits. Do what you love to do!

The only possible issue regarding a future career would be if you start cosplaying and there's photos of your cosplays running around online (mainly if you do any cosplays that could be considered "provocative", for lack of a better word) that could possibly effect your career? I'm not familiar with the Psychology field though so I would do some research just to be sure.

I've always enjoyed dressing up for halloween and recently got into cosplay. In my late 30's and it's a wonderful Hobby, a great way to be creative and continue to keep ones imagination alive and well.

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I'm 28, almost 29, and I am currently working on a Degree in Anthropology/Archaeology ... and I still cosplay. I don't think we should restrict ourselves due to career and age at all, because it's all about having fun!
I do some times still feel a bit self-conscious about cosplaying at my age though, namely because most cosplayers around my area are teens or in their early 20's. In 2011 I was at a convention, cosplaying as Canada from Axis Powers Hetalia, and I met up with a group of other Hetalia cosplayers of varying ages ... but even then, when I told them I was 27 (at the time) one person exclaimed "You're the oldest cosplayer I've ever met!" ... and I felt a little weird after that ... even though my friend, who was 25 at the time, was there too. But even so, this hasn't stopped me! I still enjoy cosplaying, and intend to do so for years to come!

oh don't be worried about that, everyone has hobby's, that's what make people unique and interesting, The most important thing is that you do what you want to do, don't let other people make you feel insecure or bad because of a choice you make that brings you happiness

If you are happy, then what does anyone's judgement matter?
im in my early 20's and I personally just feel a little weird dressing up as a 12-16 year old, because I lost my baby face, I still cosplay, I just pick older characters and generic type characters (like steampunk, cyberpunk, ANBU, ext.)

Plus there is allot of anime out there, and plenty of great anime characters in their 20's and older, as long as you feel comfortable with what you are in, and you are having fun

The majority of the cosplay community believe that there is no age limit.

I hold a PhD in Nuclear Physics from the Moscow University of Physics and Tech and worked for Roscosmos (Russian Space Agency) for 15 years. I am in my mid 30's. However I was raised female for the first 12 years of my life, then forced back to male and have had a miserable life ever since. Cosplay has allowed me to finally be myself again. Something that I could not do in Russia as they would have most likely killed me anyhow. Even to this day transgender is considered a no no there. I am from Scotland originally and even there its considered taboo with all the religious nutters. So I am in my 30's trying to pull off a Lolita because I grew up like that and have always longed for it back. I really could care less anymore what people say. I am also an asexual which means it is physically impossible for me to do it for fetish like some think I do it for. I am eccentric and will dress how I feel as long as it does not violate dignity or morals. Like that picture of the schoolgirl in the mirror, schoolgirl on one side, goth on the other, I am just like that lol.I love neo Victorian Gothic but sometimes I need to be all girly too.. Meh to each their own right? Age and gender to me is irrelevant its how you feel that matters. Mind you I would not be going around like this at 50 or so lol I think I would go with long Victorian stuff then